People in the countryside are trying their best to move to the city, and people in the city are trying their best to move to the countryside. Country people envy the high-rise buildings in the city, while city people yearn for the natural tranquility of the countryside. Maybe I feel bored after living in one place for a long time. For example, I have lived in the busy city for a long time and am surrounded by the hustle and bustle. In the fast pace, I always want to hide in a secluded place where I can rest my soul.
Cangpo has a very beautiful name. Beacon Hill, Ink Pond, Inkstone, Bi Street and Paper Village, the entire elegant village is like the four treasures of the study, living quietly in the mountains and rivers. A straight stone road runs through the whole village, called the pen; there is a bridge in the middle of the stone road, made of five well-sized stone strips, called the ink; the largest area of ??the entire village is the lotus ponds on both sides of the stone road, called the ink. Inkstone; and the rectangular village is paper.
Cangpo Village was designed by Li Shiri, a state master of the Southern Song Dynasty. All the villagers in the ancient village have the surname Li. It is located at the foot of the mountain to the north of Yantou Town in the upper reaches of Nanxi River in Yongjia County, southern Zhejiang. It was originally named Cangdun. The founder Li Cen moved here from Changxi, Fujian Province to avoid war. Construction began in the second year of Zhou Xiande (955) after the Five Dynasties, and it has lasted more than 1,000 years. In the fifth year of Chunxi in the Southern Song Dynasty (1178), Li Song, the ninth ancestor, invited the state master Li Shiri to re-plan and build a village layout with the four treasures of the study as the main image.
When visiting Cangpo, you usually enter from the south gate, which is the "Cangpo Ximen". This creek gate is elegant in shape and has a pastoral feel. Cangpo Ximen was built in the fifth year of Chunxi in the Southern Song Dynasty (1178). It is entirely made of wood. The six-story bracket does not use a single nail. The roof is a double-eaves hanging mountain structure, which looks dignified and simple. The four characters of Cangpo Ximen were inscribed by Mr. Cai Xingu, a late calligrapher from Wenzhou. There is a couplet on the upper gate: "Xishan Range Rover cherishes the sages, and the family background adds glory to Kun." This couplet depicts the beautiful scenery here. It also illustrates the brilliant achievements of the ancestors, and also hopes that the descendants will work hard to study and become officials to shine.
Stepping into the creek gate, you will open the history page of Cangpo Village. This page is the two ponds on the left and right sides. The left page is the West Pond and the right page is the East Pond. Since their birth, these two ponds have been more than just ordinary ponds that enhance life and beautify the environment. The page on the West Pond records the life ideals of half-farming and half-reading; the page on the East Pond records the praise of noble spirits and beautiful virtues and the worship of gods.
Compared with ancient towns in the south of the Yangtze River such as Wuzhen and Xitang, the ancient village of Cangpo is not well known. However, after thousands of years of vicissitudes, it still retains the walls, roads, residences, pavilions, and temples built in the Song Dynasty. And the ancient cypresses, as well as the cobblestone walls built around the village, the very old ancient cypress trees inside the wall, the pavilions under the trees and the dragons on the eaves, all show a strong ancient meaning.
The two ancient cypresses beside the village wall are not only a historical testimony of Cangpo Village’s emphasis on greening, but also permeate the cultural atmosphere of the ancient village. Although these two cypress trees are more than 800 years old, they are still full of vitality.
The building in the center of the pool is called Shuiyue Hall. It has a flexible ridge, eaves on all sides, and a double-eaves design. The originally ordinary sloping roof has naturally transformed into a hilltop, so it looks particularly vivid and is known as the "Sweet Moon Hall". Ancient architecture experts hail it as a classic among Nanxijiang ancient buildings.
Shuiyuetang was first built in the Northern Song Dynasty (1124 AD) as a memorial hall. Li Xiaxi, the eighth ancestor of Cangpo, Huizong of the Northern Song Dynasty, was appointed as Digonglang in the court, and his brother Li Jinxi was appointed as Chengzhonglang in the court. The brothers were friendly and deeply affectionate. In the second year of Xuanhe, Li Jinxi accompanied Tong Guan on an expedition to the Liao Kingdom. Unfortunately, he died on the battlefield and sacrificed his life for the country. When Li Xiaxi learned that her brother had died, she was heartbroken. He no longer cared about officialdom, and the pain was like a sharp weapon stabbing him. He returned to Cangpo Village and built the Shuiyuetang on the East Pond. Whenever the moon rose, he would sit alone in the Shuiyuetang and look at the moon in the pond. He felt that only the moon on the pond was the best. It can express his feelings for missing his brother.
I walked across a bridge with a peculiar shape, named "Lilac", which is high in the middle and low on both sides. This leads to the courtyard of Shuiyue Hall. The south wall of the courtyard is a hollow flower wall, consisting of three groups of patterns. It is these different patterns that make the south wall appear rich and flexible, making it a classic masterpiece among courtyard walls. This wall was built using the "missing view" technique commonly used in garden architecture, but it is different from the ordinary flower wall that is transparent inside and out. Standing in the courtyard, you can see the pavilions, ponds, trees, and trees outside through the holes in the flower wall. There are mountains and rivers in the distance, but people outside can't see a trace of the scene inside the courtyard.
A plaque with the name "Jizhou Garden" hangs above the nave of Shuiyue Hall. These three characters are elegant and graceful without being too powerful.
"Jizhou Garden" is named after Li Qiaoyin, the 11th Taizu of Cangpo. He once taught in Jizhou, Jiangxi and was very prestigious. After returning to Cangpo in his later years, he did many good things for the village and everyone praised him. In order to commemorate Li Qiaoyin, Li Shipu, the 33rd generation of Cangpo, rebuilt the central hall and named it Jizhou Garden, which means Jizhou Educational Place.
The Li Family Ancestral Hall is the ritual and religious center of Cangpo Village. It is also a place for clan gatherings and major clan celebrations. In the traditional agricultural era of our country, ancestral halls took care of all aspects of villagers' lives, including two main things: one was to gather relatives and harmonize the clan; the other was to hold the ancestral hall for the first time. In the past, when it was time for round scores and ancestor worship, people who had moved out came here to gather together. The scene was very spectacular. Through clan activities such as round scores and ancestor worship, the harmony and unity of the clan members were strengthened. People often made decisions here. major events and resolve tribal disputes. In ancient times, all tribesmen who participated in the "Golden List" of the three examinations were required to come here wearing red and flowers to hold a grand ancestor worship ceremony. Under the guidance of the master of ceremonies, they knelt three times and kowtowed nine times to worship their ancestors. Historically, Cangpo Village has been home to numerous talents, with many passing the imperial examinations. Today, there are still famous talents, such as Li Dapeng, an academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, whose ancestral home is Cangpo Village.
The Renji Temple between the East Pool and the West Pool was built by the tenth ancestor Bojun Gong in the seventh year of Chunxi in the Southern Song Dynasty (AD 1180). The ancient temple faces water on three sides, and the middle courtyard is used as a "water patio". It should be based on the Feng Shui principle that water restrains fire. The eaves of Renji Temple are slightly upturned, the eaves surface is slightly curved, and the ridge lines are gentle but full of tension, as if they are about to spread their wings and take off, stretching and generous, which is particularly graceful and avoids the solemnity usually conveyed by ordinary temple buildings.
A straight ancient street is the main street of the village, called Bi Street, facing the three pointed peaks of Bijia Mountain to the west. This big pen is resting on the pen holder. It is a large residential house with a strict and neat layout. There is a square wall outside the house. Outside the wall, there are criss-crossing streets and alleys connected to it, like a large square paper. Cangpo people work hard at farming and studying, and many people have realized their dreams of being a farmhouse minister in the morning and ascending to the emperor's hall in the evening. There are not a few people who have achieved the honors of being a civil servant and a Jinshi. There are the earliest literary Jinshi and Wu Jinshi in the Nanxi River Basin.
Every scene here has stories and traces left by history. Let us slow down and explore attentively. Step onto one of the paths, touch the weather-beaten traces of history, and let time move forward slowly.
In the middle of Bi Street, there is an ancient well. The water is clear, sweet and refreshing, and the water temperature remains unchanged all year round. This water flows from the top of Cangshan Mountain, a 1,000-meter-high mountain behind. The water is delicious, the rice is particularly fragrant, and the wine is even more mellow and fragrant. There are three small square pools outside the well, which are used to store the clear spring that overflows from the well. These three small pools have different uses. The order is: washing food, washing clothes, and washing toilets. Don't worry about them infiltrating each other, let alone flowing back. This is the uniqueness of Inkstone.
Walking gently on the streets of the ancient village, the peachland-like village, you can see the green lake water when you step out, and the willows willows when you look up. The classical buildings and courtyards, wood carvings and stone carvings are all glowing with the luster of time. and charm, exuding elegance and grandeur.
After walking around the village and returning to the village entrance, we felt satisfied when we thought about everything we had seen before. After taking photos outside the village, we set off on the road to Nanxi River rafting.